Lost dancing warriors delight

LONDON: When teachers arrived at their school in Hull to find nine spear-carrying Zulu warriors at the gates, they were, understandably, a little confused.

But not as confused as the Zulus, who asked them: “Is this London?”

As both groups looked at each other in bewilderment, it soon became apparent how their very different worlds had managed to collide, it was all down to a mix-up with the GPS.

The Zulu “warriors” were in fact the Lions of Zululand, a South African dance troupe who were expecting to perform for the children of St Ann’s School in Brentford, west London.

Thanks to a clerical blunder, their GPS directed them to St Anne’s in Welton on the outskirts of Hull – 320km from their intended destination.

After a few phone calls, the Lions’ leader Mdu Mkize realised how the mistake occurred.

While they had the correct school’s address, the region had been listed as “East Yorkshire”, with the Hull school’s phone number.

So when Mkize put the number into Google to find the postcode so he could drive from St Albans, he had ended up with the one for the Yorkshire school.

An embarrassed Mkize, 50, said: “I feel very sorry about what happened and this is not something that happens every day.” Luckily the Hull school, for children with special needs, were so impressed with the group they booked them on the spot.

The Lions – who were on their annual tour of the UK from KwaZulu-Natal – did two performances and a workshop for the pupils, some of whom had a go at drumming and dancing.

The day was funded by a charity which sponsors the group’s visits to special schools.

Christine Lee, assistant head at St Anne’s, said: “The children absolutely loved it. We would definitely have them back.”

The Lions now hope to rearrange their visit to London, this time with very clearly issued directions. – Daily Mail